Faith in a Bubble!

This email comes from Diana, the hard worker and resource maker at Strands. This is a wonderfully rich resource centre supporting our Children and Families ministries in the church. I thought you might like to read her email.

Greetings from our bubble to yours!

If anyone had told me a few weeks ago that I’d be sending this from lockdown, self-solating myself in a ‘bubble’ with my 95-year old neighbour, and distancing myself from all my friends and family – I’m not sure I would have believed them! You may be tired, worn out, ‘over-zoomed’ and trying to juggle being a teacher/ parent/genius/ninja/human being. We get that. So we’re not expecting anyone to ‘recreate children’s ministry’ at home, and to have permission to soak up this new season and the peace that God offers us, today. The family household has always been the most amazing incubator of faith in the Bible, passing on God’s story to each generation anew. While this may be a challenging time, this may also have much fruit.

As we adjust to life in our new ‘bubbles’, we have highlighted a few ideas and thoughts below, and pray that they are helpful. May we all discover new treasures in this bubble life, and all that God has for us in it. These words from Bishop Eleanor, our Strandz Bishop, have given me deep peace this week:

Breathe deeply today the breath of God. Know God’s love for you. Know God’s love for the world. Be at peace.

A few years ago, we did a video on Faith 5, a simple conversation starter over a meal time to talk about the highs and lows of the day. (Bonus: This doesn’t require any props, preparation or resources!)Share the highs and lows of your dayRead a verse from your Bible – you can choose one, use a lectionary or read through a favourite psalm.Talk about how your verse relates to your highs and lowsPray for your highs and lows, for your family and the worldBless one other .

Sunday worshipOur main platform for supporting the Sunday worship of families will be on Connectible, our Lectionary based website that has videos, sermons, simple crafts and prayer ideas.

This Sunday is the story of Lazarus. If you have any ideas to share, please let us know – we’d LOVE some extra contributors.

The video above was filmed by the Anglican Diocese of Wellington, and models how you can run a house church service at home. Please note this was filmed before the lockdown was implemented, and before the distribution of the Eucharist was difficult. Please follow your diocesan guidelines for how to celebrate an Agape meal or non-eucharist gathering.

**Maybe you could:

*****Joining in with a livestream church service on Sunday mornings

*****Sharing dinner with a family from church via Zoom, and going through Faith 5.